Field
The described embodiments relate to techniques for communicating information among electronic devices. In particular, the described embodiments relate to techniques for changing the coverage area during wireless communication in a cellular-telephone network by adapting transmit and/or receive antenna radiation patterns for the electronic devices.
Related Art
Many electronic devices are capable of wirelessly communicating with other electronic devices. For example, electronic devices often include a networking subsystem that implements a network interface for: a cellular network (UMTS, LTE, etc.), a wireless local area network (e.g., a wireless network such as described in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard or Bluetooth™ from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group of Kirkland, Wash.), and/or another type of wireless network.
In order to improve performance during wireless communication among electronic devices, many electronic devices include multiple antennas that can use beamforming techniques to produce antenna radiation patterns or beam patterns that include beams and nodes or notches. When configured properly, these antenna radiation patterns can address the performance challenges in an environment with a multi-path communication channel.
However, it can be difficult to determine the optimal antenna radiation patterns (and, thus, the antenna-radiation-pattern settings) for the multiple antennas in transmitting devices and/or receiving devices. In particular, determining the optimal antenna radiation patterns may involve coordination among the transmitting devices and the receiving devices, which may not be supported by existing communication protocols and/or by the associated networking subsystems in the transmitting devices and the receiving devices.